A great day for a dip

With the sun shining and temperatures hovering around 15 degrees, people from all over the area convened in Thompson Falls to bring in the New Year with a dip in the Clark Fork River. Over 40 people made the plunge, and several more congregated on the snowy banks at Goose Landing to watch.

Ellen Wikstrom made the plunge for the first time at last Saturday’s event.

“It was so freezing,” Wikstrom said. “It was really cold.”

Wikstrom is originally from Sweden, and is staying with the Beckmans in Thompson Falls. She heard about the event, and thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“I had never done it before, so I just wanted to try,” Wikstrom said.

After taking the leap, however, Wikstrom plans to take the once-in-a-lifetime part pretty literally.

“Would I do it again? Probably not,” Wikstrom said.

This year, the event was organized by Thompson Falls resident Joe Frields, who has been attending events like these for some time.

“I’ve been doing them for 15 year, and they are a lot of fun,” Frields said.

Frields has participated in plunges in high mountain lakes in early spring and late fall, and finds this event pretty comparable.

Attendance at the Thompson Falls Polar Plunge has been fairly consistent over the years it has been held, according to Frields.

“It was pretty much the way it’s been for the last few years, in terms of attendance,” Frields said. “I didn’t count, but I would say that about 40 people went in.”

For potential participants, there are very few requirements, except courage and a healthy heart. In fact, Frields said that participating in polar plunges can have health benefits.

“It has to do with getting your body to go through that quick change,” Frields said. “There’s a lot of people who will say that it’s actually a healthy thing for your body to go through.”

Frields has seen people of all ages participate in the event.

“We’ve had kids from seven years all the way up to the mid 80s doing it,” Frields said.

Jerry Pauli has coordinated the event for the last eight years, and was one of the people who started the event.

“It seemed like something crazy or wacky,” Pauli said. “ It was just something to do on January 1.”

Pauli also cites similar events in other areas, such as Polson or Missoula, as further inspiration to start his own Polar Plunge. Plus, conditions in the area are ideal.

“We got real water, real snow, real weather, why not just do it here, where we have a little bit of everything?” Pauli said.

Like Frields, Pauli sees the event as not just something crazy to do, but something that has health benefits as well. He cites similar traditions in Scandinavian countries, and also compares it to fasting in diets, something done to cleanse the body.

“There are some health benefits to it,” Pauli said. “It’s not as bad as people think.”

For Pauli, a quick and simple jump off of the dock was not enough.

“I would always do it the hard way,” Pauli said. “A lot of people would jump off of the dock and then go right back up the ladder. I would always wade out.”

Pauli would usually break the ice with a sledgehammer. It would take about 15 or 20 minutes for Pauli to be in the freezing water up to his waist.

“Everybody would just laugh and tell me I’m crazy,” Pauli said.

Having gone through the process several times, Pauli has a few tips for first-timers. First of all, wear old tennis shoes. This keeps the feet protected from getting cut on rocks or ice.

Another tip would be to let the body acclimate to the cold by getting down to swimming suits five to 10 minutes ahead of time. Though it might be a tough tip to follow, this allows an individual to get used to the cold and makes the final plunge less of a shock.

Finally, after it’s all over, Pauli cautions participants from jumping into a hot tub or hot shower. After being that cold, the body’s extremities will respond to the sudden heat with a pins-and-needles sensation that can be very painful. Instead, take a lukewarm rinse to bring the body back to temperature.

Coinciding with the Polar Plunge last Saturday was the Thompson Falls 5K Fun Run, which was organized by Sarah Naegeli.

Originally, the run started as a way to celebrate a new century, but eventually became a yearly tradition.

“In 1999, when there was all of that big fuss about the new millennium, we decided we needed to do a run on Jan. 1, 2000, so that’s how it got started,” Naegeli said.

This year marked the 12th year of the Fun Run. 103 runners took part in the event, a number that has been fairly consistent over the years

Though the event didn’t originally start out as a fundraiser, but when the group does make money, it goes to the Clark Fork Valley Running Club.

Not everyone who participates in the run actually runs the whole time, according to Naegeli.

“We have a lot of people that walk,” Naegeli said.

Still, the event does bring out the runners in the community.

“There were a lot of cross-country runners. There were a lot of cross-country runners from five to 10 years ago,” Naegeli said. “It was neat to have them come back.”

For Naegeli, the most rewarding part of the event is seeing how much everyone enjoys it.

“What I like is when we come that day, and every one is there and they tell us what a good time it is,” Naegeli said.

Though the Fun Run and the Polar Plunge aren’t officially affiliated, many people participate in both.

According to Pauli, it is interesting to see who is able to make the plunge and who isn’t.

“It has nothing to do with machismo or strength or coordination or stamina,” Pauli said.

Pauli said that facing the freezing water and not backing down is the most rewarding part of the event.

“It’s like anything else that you do, it’s that feeling of accomplishment,” Pauli said.